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1 


THE 


\£ 


NOBLEMAN'S  SON: 


AN    ALLEGORY. 


NEW-YORK: 


LEWIS    COLBY 

1846. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/noblemanssonalleOOnewy 

i 


THE  NOBLEMAN'S  SON. 

I  am  going  now  to  relate  to  you  an 
allegory.  Do  you  know  what  an  alle- 
gory is  ?  It  is  a  kind  of  story.  I  can- 
not now  stop  to  explain  exactly  how  it 
differs  from  other  stories  ;  you  will, 
perhaps,  yourselves  understand,  after 
reading  this  one,  or  you  can  ask  your 
father  or  your  mother,  though  I  should 
not  be  surprised  if  they  should  find 
themselves  a  little  puzzled  in  attempting 
to  explain  it.  At  any  rate,  here  comes 
my  all-egory. 

THE    ALLEGORY. 

Once  upon  a  time,  there  lived  in  a 
most  beautiful  country,  a  great,  wealthy 

696723 


98  the  nobleman's  son. 

Nobleman.  He  had  a  very  large  and 
magnificent  estate,  containing  fields,  and 
gardens,  and  groves,  and  little  lakes  and 
rivers.  This  Nobleman,  having  no- 
thing in  particular  to  do,  formed  a  very 
singular  design.  He  was  very  fond  of 
children ;  he  loved  to  have  them  about 
him,  and  to  see  them  enjoying  them- 
selves; and  his  design  was,  to  collect 
together  on  his  estate,  a  great  many 
children,  and  to  arrange  all  his  build- 
ings and  grounds  for  their  comfort  and 
enjoyment.  He  was  going  to  have  a 
great  family  of  children,  many  hundreds 
in  all,  boys  and  girls;  some  very  small, 
and  some  much  larger. 

The  children  in  this  country  were  not 
rude,  noisy,  and  quarrelsome,  as  they 
are  generally,  in  this  world;  but  they 
were  kind,  and  docile,  and  obedient. 
So  they  could  be  trusted  a  great  deal 
by  themselves.     The  Nobleman,  there- 


99 

fore,  scattered  them  about  in  different 
parts  of  his  estate,  each  choosing  some 
pleasant  place,  where  he  would  like  to 
dwell.  The  Nobleman  made  beautiful 
little  cottages  for  them,  under  the  rocks 
and  among  the  trees,  and  on  the  shores 
of  the  brooks  and  ponds.  In  some 
places,  there  were  little  clusters  of 
these  cottages,  where  those  that  were 
most  attached  to  each  other,  could  live 
together.  They  had  walks,  leading  from 
one  part  of  the  grounds  to  another,  and 
neat  little  bridges  across  the  streams. 
In  some  places,  these  streams  spread  out 
into  little  sheets  of  smooth  water,  in  the 
midst  of  groves,  or  in  pleasant  vallies ; 
and  here  there  were  little  boats,  with 
sails  and  anchors,  just  large  enough  for 
the  children  to  manage,  and  wharves 
for  landing.  In  other  places,  the  streams 
came  tumbling  down  the  rocks,  in  the 
midst  of  a  wild,  thick  wood,  and  here 
were  little  water  wheels  fixed,  where 


100 

the  ingenious  boys  could  make  toys,  or 
sharpen  their  knives  by  the  grindstones 
turned  by  the  water.*  In  many  places, 
too,  there  were  seats  fixed  under  the 
trees,  and  bowers;  and  many  groves 
of  fruit  trees,  and  grapes  trained  against 
walls,  and  berries  of  all  kinds  growing 
in  different  situations.  The  Nobleman 
had  also  procured  a  breed  of  little  po- 
nies, just  large  enough  for  the  children 
to  ride ;  these  ponies  fed  in  little  fields,  or 
could  be  kept  in  stables,  built  just  larg^ 
enough  for  them ;  and  as  they  were  very 
gentle,  they  always  allowed  themselves 
to  be  caught,  and  saddled  and  bridled  by 
the  boys,  whenever  they  wanted  to  ride. 
Sometimes  they  harnessed  them  in  little 
chaises,  or  in  carts,  and  then  they  rode 
around  the  estate,  or  else  carted  earth 
or  stones  to  build  terraces,  or  to  mend 
a  wharf,  or  to  open  a  new  road  through 
some  pleasant  part  of  the  grounds. 

*  See  Frontispiece. 


101 

In  short,  this  Nobleman,  when  he  had 
once  determined  to  make  such  a  place 
as  children  could  be  most  happy  in,  left 
nothing  untried  to  accomplish  the  ob- 
ject.    It  is  true,  he  did  not  finish  every 
thing  before  he  brought  the   children 
into  it,  because  he  knew  enough  about 
children,  to  be  sure  that  they  would 
take  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in  carry- 
ing on  some  of  the  works  themselves. 
So  he  left  some  roads  to  be  made,  and 
some  dams  to  be  built,  and  even  allow- 
ed one  little  tract  of  land,  on  the  borders 
of  a  pond,  to  remain  in  its  natural  state, 
with  tall  forest  trees  growing  upon  it; 
and  underneath  the  tangled  underwood, 
with  great  quantities  of  old   decayed 
trunks  and   branches,   and  trees  over- 
turned by  the  wind,    and  wild  rocks. 
He  thought  the  children  would  like  to 
come  in  here,  and  build  great  fires  of 
the  brushwood,  and  make  their  horses 
pull   out   the  stumps,    and   cut  up  the 
9* 


102  THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON. 

trunks  of  the  decayed  trees  with  their 
little  axes,  and  burn  them; — and  thus 
see  the  gradual  change  from  a  wild  and 
tangled  thicket,  to  a  smooth  and  beau- 
tiful grove, 

There  was,  in  fact,  every  variety  of 
scene,  and  every  variety  of  enjoyment 
to  be  found  by  the  children,  in  these 
delightful  grounds.  "And  yet,"  said 
the  Nobleman  to  himself,  "I  must  not 
leave  my  children  to  spend  all  their 
time  in  amusement.  They  will  soon 
become  tired  of  that,  and  my  little  com- 
munity will  all  become  completely 
miserable,"  So  he  made  arrangements 
for  them  to  learn  what  would  be  useful 
to  them ;  and  he  required  them  to  de- 
vote some  time  to  thinking  about  their 
duty,  and  examining  their  characters, 
and  finding  out  in  what  way  they  might 
improve.  The  children  liked  this  ;  and 
thus  in  a  happy  change,  from  serious 
employments,  to  active  and  delightful 


103 

play,  they  passed  their  time.  Their 
kind  protector  was  always  watching 
around  among  them, — taking  care  of 
the  estate,  and  planning  new  employ- 
ments and  pleasures;  for  it  was  his 
greatest  happiness  to  see  them  making 
improvement,  and  enjoying  the  happi- 
ness he  had  provided  for  them. 

Things  went  on  thus  very  delightfully 
for  a  long  time,  in  this  scene  of  happi- 
ness. The  children  not  only  obeyed 
their  protector's  commands,  but  they 
took  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  comply 
with  all  his  wishes.  They  showed,  by 
their  smiling  and  happy  countenances, 
the  joy  they  felt  whenever  he  came 
among  them ;  and  every  morning  and 
evening  they  used  to  go  to  him,  carry- 
ing all  their  wants  and  wishes,  and  lis- 
tening to  his  advice  and  instructions. 
They  all  loved  one  another  too,  and 
lived  in  peace  and  happiness  continu- 
ally.    I  am  sorry  I  have  not  time  to 


104 

describe  some  of  the  particular  plans 
they  adopted  for  amusement  ; — the 
walks  they  took, — the  plays  upon  their 
playground — the  terraces,  and  wharves, 
and  dams  they  built, — their  rides,  and 
their  sails,  and  the  thousand  curious 
schemes  which  they  formed,  during  the 
time  allotted  for  play  in  the  pleasant 
summer  days.  Then  in  the  winter,  too, 
what  pyramids  and  forts  of  snow  they 
built, — what  beautiful  sliding  places 
they  found  on  the  ponds  and  brooks ; 
and  often  a  party  of  them  would  skate 
for  hours,  along  the  winding  shores  of 
a  stream,  upon  the  smooth  dark  ice, 
gliding  along  under  the  trees  which 
overhung  its  banks.  You  must  not  sup- 
pose, however,  my  boy,  that  they  spent 
all  their  time  in  play.  They  had  regu- 
lar duties  of  study  to  perform,  and  they 
took  as  much  interest  in  these,  in  the 
time  of  them,  as  they  did  in  their  plays. 
Now  it  happened,  that  this  estate  was 


THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON.  105 

bordered  upon  one  side,  by  a  wild  region 
of  country,  covered  with  forests,  and 
extending  back  to  ranges  of  wild  moun- 
tains, which  lay  beyond  it.  There 
were  dark  ravines,  and  frowning  rocks, 
and  dangerous  precipices  among  them ; 
and  also  many  poisonous  plants,  and 
wild  beasts  were  there.  So  that  the 
Nobleman  had  expressly  forbid  any 
of  the  children  going  there.  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  however,  that  a  few  of  the 
children,  who  lived  near  the  border, 
began  to  feel  some  desire  to  cross  over, 
and  see  what  there  was  in  the  wilder- 
ness. Perhaps  you  think  there  was  a 
great  wall  there  to  keep  the  children  in. 
Oh  no.  The  Nobleman  did  not  wish 
to  keep  his  children  near  him  by  means 
of  walls.  He  did  not  wish  to  force  a  sin- 
gle one  of  them  to  stay.  So  he  built 
no  wall.  In  fact,  the  very  boundary  of 
the  estate  on  that  side,  did  not  seem  to 
be  very  strongly  marked.    It  was  a  lit- 


106 

tie  brook,  meandering  through  a  field, 
and  it  had  several  little  channels,  so 
that  it  was  not  very  certain  exactly 
where  the  boundary  was;  and  some 
of  the  boys,  more  careless  than  the  rest, 
used  to  play  very  near  it.  They  thus 
exposed  themselves  to  temptation.  Still 
the  Nobleman  chose  not  to  make  any 
wall  to  keep  them  in ;  and  it  was  not 
necessary,  on  account  of  the  wild 
beasts,  to  make  any  wall,  for  they  never 
ventured  down  into  the  open  country; 
so  none  was  built,  for,  as  I  said  before, 
the  Nobleman  chose  to  have  the  boys  all 
kept  near  him  by  love,  and  the  principle 
of  obedience,  not  by  bolts  and  walls. 

Several  of  the  boys,  however,  ven- 
tured over  this  line.  Two  of  them  were 
chasing  a  squirrel  one  day,  and  ran  a 
little  way  into  the  neighboring  thicket. 
When  they  came  back,  the  other  boys 
near  asked  them  how  it  looked  in  there; 
and  they  said  it  looked  very  pleasantly 


THE    NOBLEMAN  S    SON.  107 

They  said  there  were  very  pretty  little 
openings  through  the  wood,  and  that  the 
moss  was  green,  and  the  flowers  new,  and 
beautiful;  and  on  the  whole,  their  ac- 
count awakened  some  desire  among  the 
other  boys  to  go  in  a  little  way, — only 
a  little  ivay,  just  to  see  how  it  looked. 
They  had  no  idea  of  going  really  off, 
back  into  the  wilderness,  and  among 
the  mountains.  They  were  afraid  of 
the  wild  beasts,  and  frightful  precipices 
there,  but  they  thought  there  could  be 
no  harm  in  a  little  ramble  in  the  border, 
where  the  land  was  very  similar  to 
some  parts  of  their  own  safe  and  hap- 
py garden. 

In  short,  a  few  days  after,  a  party  of 
them  went  over  the  line,  and  walked  on 
cautiously  and  timidly  into  the  neigh- 
boring wood.  They  found  no  difficul- 
ties or  dangers;  and  the  wood,  though 
dense,  was  considerably  open  below,  and 
beautiful,  and  the  ground  was  smooth; 


108 

besides,  there  were  many  natural  paths 
through  the  thickets,  which  opened,  like 
avenues,  in  various  directions,  and  seem* 
ed  to  invite  the  boys  on.  They  were 
pleased  with  the  novelty,  and  the 
strangeness  of  the  scene,  and  began 
soon  to  walk  with  less  hesitation  and 
alarm. 

"  This  is  a  pleasant  place,  after  all," 
said  one. 

"Yes,"  said  another,  "I  do  not  see 
why  we  should  be  so  strictly  forbidden 
to  come  here." 

"  There  may  be  wild  beasts,  and  ter- 
rible precipices  among  the  mountains," 
said  a  third,  "  for  aught  I  know,  but  it 
is  very  plain  there  are  none  here." 

So  they  walked  on,  rambling  here 
and  there,  gathering  flowers  and  ber- 
ries, and  gradually  allowing  feelings  of 
distrust,  and  ingratitude,  and  insubordi- 
nation, towards  their  kind  benefactor, 
to  grow  up  in  their  hearts. 


109 

As  the  boys  thus  went  on,  they  found 
one  thing  which  they  did  not  expect, 
though  it  was  in  themselves,  and  not  in 
the  strange  place  which  they  had  wick- 
edly ventured  into.  Instead  of  being 
satisfied  with  what  they  had  seen,  and 
desiring  to  return  again,  after  a  short 
time,  they  grew  less  and  less  inclined 
to  go  back,  the  longer  they  remained. 
In  fact,  this  is  always  the  case  with  sin. 
The  longer  we  continue  in  it,  the  less 
wish  we  have  to  give  it  up.  The  boys 
began  to  wish  to  see  more  of  the  wood ; 
and  besides,  they  felt  guilty  and  con- 
demned, and  did  not  like  to  see  the  face 
of  their  friend  and  protector.  They 
were  ashamed,  too,  to  meet  the  other 
boys,  and  acknowledge  what  they  had 
been  doing,  and  bear  the  punishment 
which  they  knew  would  be  inflicted, 
And  as  the  season  was  mild  and  plea- 
sant, they  concluded,  when  night  came, 
to  make  themselves  a  little  booth  of 
10 


110 

branches,  and  stay  there.  So  they  built 
their  booth,  and  lay  down  upon  a  little 
bed  of  branches.  They  had  often  done 
this  before,  on  their  own  grounds,  but 
then  they  were  innocent  and  happy; 
noiv  they  felt,  when  night  came,  guilty 
and  miserable.  They  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  go  every  night  to  their  protec- 
tor, to  ask  him  favors,  or  to  receive  his 
parting  advice  and  instructions ;  but 
now  they  had  no  one  to  go  to.  They 
were  alone, — they  were  in  the  wrong, — 
they  had  abandoned  duty, — broken  the 
laws  they  ought  to  have  kept, — deserted 
their  kindest  and  best  friend,  and  they 
could  not,  therefore,  be  very  happy.  Still, 
they  would  not  go  back.  Their  hearts 
began  to  be  filled,  more  and  more,  with 
repining  and  complaints,  and  yet  they 
had  a  still  greater  desire  to  go  on  in  sin. 
The  gloom  and  wretchedness  which 
they  felt  at  night,  was  lessened  a  little 
in  the  morning;  for  when  they  woke 


SON.  Ill 

up,  the  sun  was  bright  and  pleasant; 
the  birds  were  singing  around  them, 
and  they  began  to  think  how  fine  a 
time  they  should  have  that  day,  with 
no  lessons  to  get,  no  rules  to  keep,  and 
nothing  to  do  but  what  they  pleased. 

"  But  may  not  the  Nobleman  send  for 
us,"  asked  one  of  the  boys,  "to  bring  us 
back  and  punish  us  V1 

This  thought  gave  them  some  fear, 
and  they  concluded  to  move  on  a  little 
farther.  What  folly !  They  knew,  very 
well,  they  could  not  escape  from  him. 
He  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  every 
part  of  the  forest,  and  had  runners,  and 
fleet  horsemen,  who  could  explore 
every  corner  of  it,  whenever  he  should 
give  the  word.  Still,  although  they 
knew  this,  they  could  not  help  feeling 
safer  a  little  farther  off;  so  that  instead 
of  being  drawn  back,  as  they  expected 
to  be,  after  having  been  a  short  time  in 
the  wood,  they  found  that  the  longer 


112  THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON. 

they  staid,  the  more  were  they  repelled 
from  it;  that  is,  they  wished  to  go  far- 
ther away,  instead  of  coming  nearer. 
So  they  wandered  on ;  sometimes  pleas- 
ed with  what  they  saw,  or  with  some 
new  fruit  or  berry  they  found  to  eat ; 
and  sometimes  filled  with  uneasiness 
and  anxiety  about  their  condition  and 
prospects. 

The  Nobleman  did  not  seem,  at  first, 
to  make  any  very  decided  efforts  to 
compel  them  to  return.  He  sent  one  or 
two  of  the  other  boys  to  them,  to  tell 
them  they  were  doing  wrong,  and  to 
call  them  back;  but  it  did  no  good. 
Some  of  them  did  not  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  the  messengers,  others  did  not 
believe  they  were  sent ;  and  others 
were  led  to  reflect  upon  their  sin,  and 
upon  the  miseries  which  they  knew 
were  before  them,  if  they  did  not 
return;  but  still  they  could  not  make 
up  their  minds  to  come  back.     So  they 


SON.  113 

all  went  on,  rambling  about  in  wild, 
strange  places,  living  on  berries  and 
wild  fruits,  and  sleeping,  at  night,  in 
their  own  little  booths,  or  in  such  grot- 
tos, and  sheltered  places  in  the  rocks,  as 
they  could  find.  They  thus  wandered 
farther  and  farther  away;  the  scenery 
grew  more  and  more  wild,  and  after  a 
time,  they  found  themselves  approach- 
ing the  mountainous  country.  They 
found  many  dangers  and  difficulties, 
and  these  were  increasing  upon  them 
as  they  proceeded,  but  still  they  had  no 
disposition  to  return.  They  found,  too, 
what  was  not  a  little  remarkable,  that 
by  giving  up  their  attachment  to  their 
former  protector,  they  had,  at  the  same 
time,  lost  their  love  for  one  another. 
Quarrels,  which  were  utterly  unknown 
in  their  own  grounds,  broke  out  among 
them  now.  They  became  selfish,  and 
jealous,  and .  envious  of  one  another. 
You  would  hear  a  great  many  hard 
10* 


114 

words  among  them,  and  see  many  cross 
looks.  And  thus,  if  there  had  been 
nothing  else  to  keep  them  from  return- 
ing, they  would  have  been  entirely 
unwilling  to  go  back,  on  account  of  the 
state  of  their  own  hearts,  which  made 
them  utterly  unfit  to  be  again  admitted 
to  the  happy  community  they  had  left. 
Their  characters  became  bad  in  almost 
every  respect,  and  they  were  at  length 
totally  estranged  from  their  great  friend, 
and  their  once  happy  home. 

Now,  it  happened  one  day,  that  the 
Nobleman  and  his  Son  were  seated 
together  upon  a  green  bank,  under  a 
hanging  rock,  and  on  the  banks  of  a 
beautiful  stream,  where  they  had  been 
planning  a  little  mill,  which  they  were 
going  to  let  the  boys  build  upon  a 
waterfall  near  by;  and  after  they  had 
finished  their  plans,  and  were  sitting 
still,  enjoying  the  quiet,  happy  scene 
around  them,  for  it  was  about  sunset, 


THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON.  115 

on  a  pleasant  summer  evening,  they 
could  not  help  thinking  of  the  unhappy 
boys  who  had  gone  astray. 

"Father,"  said  the  son,  after  a  short 
tpause,  "what  do  you  suppose  will  be- 
come of  them  ?" 

"They  are  lost,"  said  the  father, 
"  Lost  for  ever." 

"  But  is  there  no  way  to  save  them?" 

"I  have  sent  messengers  after  them, 
and  they  would  not  return ;  and  then, 
besides,  they  are  spoiled  in  character, 
so  that  if  they  were  here  at  this  mo- 
ment, they  could  not  be  admitted 
among  us.  They  would  introduce 
quarrelling,  and  sin,  and  wretchedness 
here.  Then,  again,  it  would  not  do  to 
receive  them,  even  if  they  were  fit  to 
come.  Such  an  act  of  disobedience 
we  could  not  allow  to  go  unpunished ; 
if  we  should,  how  soon  we  should  lose 
all  our  authority.  The  children  all  now 
feel,  that    it    is   a   dreadful    thing  to 


i 


116 

disobey  us  m  any  thing;  but  if  we 
should  let  them  disobey  us,  and  wander 
away,  neglecting  all  their  duties  here, 
and^  breaking  all  our  laws,  and  also 
committing  all  sorts  of  sin  among  them* 
selves,  and  then  allow  them  to  come 
back  again  at  any  time,  all  our  authority 
would  be  at  an  end.  Thus,  you  see, 
there  are  three  insuperable  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  their  ever  being  saved. 
1.  They  do  not  wish  to  return.  2.  They 
are  not  fit  to  return.  3.  We  could  not 
safely  receive  them  back  again,  if  they 
were,  at  least  without  some  very  serious 
punishment.  So  that  you  see  they  are 
lost, — lost  for  ever.  They  will  wander 
on,  growing  worse  and  worse,  as  they 
go  farther  away.  Some  will  fall  a  prey 
to  the  ferocious  beasts,  which  prowl 
among  the  mountains;  some  will  be 
destroyed  by  poisonous  fruits;  others 
will  fall  down  precipices,  or  into  fright- 
ful pits ;  and  their  evil  passions,  which 


117 

are  every  day  growing  stronger  and 
stronger,  will  gain  such  a  height,  that 
some  will  be  killed  in  their  quarrels. 
No,  there  seems  to  be  no  help  for  them. 
They  must  come  to  a  miserable  end." 

The  Nobleman's  son  was  sad  to  think 
that  any  of  the  children,  who  had  once 
been  under  his  father's  care,  should  be 
lost.  He  thought  much  of  them  for 
many  days.  "Must  they  be  lost  !"  said 
he  to  himself  one  day,  as  he  was  walk- 
ing alone,  in  a  solitary  grove.  "  Can  I 
not  do  something  to  save  them  ?  My 
father  said  there  were  three  difficulties 
in  the  way.  The  first  was,  that  they 
were  not  willing  to  return.  But  then, 
if  I  were  to  go  myself  after  them,  and 
find  them,  and  tell  them  we  wrant  them 
to  be  innocent  and  happy  again,  they 
must  listen  to  me,  and  return.  I  know 
I  could  persuade  some  of  them  to  come. 
Then,  again,  my  father  says  they  are 
not  Jit  to  come  back  among  us.  That  is 


118 

true ;  but  then,  perhaps,  I  could  take 
them  under  my  care,  and  teach  them, 
and  help  them,  and  watch  over  them ; 
and  if  any  of  them  should  really  desire 
to  return  to  their  duty,  I  think  I  might 
help  them  to  become  fit  to  be  here 
again.  But  then  their  punishment ; — 
my  father  said  it  would  not  be  safe  to 
forgive  them,  after  such  disobedience 
and  sin.  But  is  there  no  way  to  forgive 
them  §  If  I  go  for  them,  and  bear  a 
great  deal  of  hardship,  and  hunger,  and 
suffering,  in  bringing  them  back,  per- 
haps my  father  will  forgive  them  for  my 
sake.     At  any  rate,  I  will  ask  him. 

He  did  ask  him  accordingly. 

"  Father,"  said  he,  "  would  not  those 
difficulties  be  avoided,  if  I  should  my- 
self go  away  into  the  forest,  and  try  to 
bring  back  those  poor  boys.  If  I  will 
go  and  seek  them,  and  try  to  save  them, 
and  if  I  can  persuade  them  to  come 
back  humbled  and  penitent;   and  if  I 


119 

will  teach  them,  and  help  them,  and 
take  them  here  under  my  special  care, 
will  you  forgive  them  for  all  that  is 
past,  for  my  sake." 

"Yes,"  said  the  Father,  "I  will.  I 
think  that  would  be  safe.  You  must 
suffer  a  great  deal  in  finding  them,  and 
in  persuading  them  to  return;  and  all 
the  boys,  when  they  know  how  they 
are  saved,  and  find  how  much  fatigue 
and  suffering  it  costs  you,  will  not  be 
likely  to  imitate  their  example.  Yes, 
my  son,  if  you  will  seek  and  save  them, 
I  will  forgive  them  for  your  sake.  They 
may  come  back  here  under  your  care, 
and  you  shall  keep  them,  and  watch 
over  them,  and  help  them.  In  fact, 
they  shall  be  yours,  I  will  give  you  all 
you  can  save,  and  will  pardon  them  on 
your  account." 

When  the  other  boys  heard  that  their 
benefactor's  son  was  preparing  to  go  in 
pursuit  of  their  lost  companions,  they 


120  THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON. 

were  very  much  surprised;  and  when 
the  time  arrived  for  his  departure,  they 
all  gathered  around  that  limit  of  the 
grounds  which  was  towards  the  moun- 
tains, to  bid  him  farewell.  He  was  as 
well  provided  for  the  expedition  as  he 
could  be,  though  he  knew  he  must  meet 
with  much  hardship  and  suffering,  be- 
fore he  should  come  back.  As  he  look- 
ed forward  into  the  gloomy  forest  before 
him,  and  then  surveyed  the  delightful 
home  which  he  was  leaving;  and  espe- 
cially, when  he  saw  the  expression  of 
sadness  on  the  countenances  of  his 
friends,  and  received  their  affectionate 
farewells,  which  reminded  him  of  the 
warmth  of  their  love  to  him,  he  could 
not  but  shrink  from  the  work  he  had 
undertaken.  But  when  he  thought  of 
the  happiness  of  saving  some  of  the 
poor  wanderers,  and  bringing  them 
back  to  their  former  homes,  and  restor- 
ing them  to  their  former  innocence; 


121 

and  especially,  when  he  thought  that 
his  father  had  promised  freely  to  forgive 
ill  whom  he  should  bring,  he  could 
aesitate  no  longer.  He  summoned  up 
all  his  resolution,  shook  his  father  and 
his  friends  by  the  hand,  bade  them  good 
bye,  and  walked  away  into  the  woods. 
I  cannot  stop  to  describe  all  the  re- 
markable adventures  he  had, — his  long 
and  weary  journeys, — his  hunger  and 
thirst,  and  all  the  other  hardships  he 
met  with.  His  feet  were  torn  by  the 
brambles,  and  cut  by  the  sharp  rocks ; 
sometimes  he  was  attacked  by  the  wild 
beasts,  and  sorely  wounded  by  them. 
Still  he  persevered,  and  at  last  came 
up  to  the  remote  fastnesses,  and  vallies 
in  the  mountains,  where  the  boys  had 
gone.  He  found  them  in  a  sad  state  of 
guilt  and  misery.  Some  of  them  had 
been  killed,  others  had  wandered  away, 
they  knew  not  where,  and  those  who 
were  left  were  hard-hearted,  quarrel- 
11 


122 

some,  and  cruel ;  they  had  forgotten  all 
about  their  once  happy  home,  and  had 
no  desire  to  return  to  it. 

They  did  not  know  him,  and  when 
he  told  them  who  he  was,  and  that  he 
had  come  to  save  them,  some  of  them 
did  not  pay  any  attention  to  him ; 
others  said  they  did  not  believe  he  was 
the  Nobleman's  son;  others  said  they 
did  not  wish  to  go  back, — they  were 
well  enough  as  they  were  ;  some  laugh- 
ed at  him,  and  mocked  him,  and  threat- 
ened to  kill  him  if  he  did  not  go  away. 

There  were  a  few,  however,  who  lis- 
tened to  him ;  and  it  was  very  curious, 
that  though  they  had  felt  no  penitence 
before,  they  were  so  struck  with  this  un- 
expected kindness, — the  goodness,  and 
the  love  he  showed,  in  coming  so  far 
to  seek  and  save  them, — that  when  he 
offered  them  forgiveness,  they  could  not 
refrain  from  tears.  Their  ingratitude 
and  sin,  their  hardness  of  heart,  and 


THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON.  123 

wicked  disobedience,  seemed  brought 
out  very  distinctly  to  view,  simply  by 
being  contrasted  with  his  love,  and 
zeal,  and  kindness.  These  boys  were 
penitent.  They  nocked  around  him, — 
they  called  him  their  Savior,  and  said 
they  should  be  rejoiced  to  return  with 
him,  and  be  saved  in  the  way  he  had 
described.  The  rest  laughed  at  them, 
and  tried  to  persuade  them  not  to  go 
back ;  and  when  they  found  they  would 
go,  they  beat  them  shamefully ;  but  this 
only  made  them  in  the  greater  haste  to 
get  away.  The  bad  boys  treated  the 
Nobleman's  son,  however,  the  worst. 
Once  he  fainted,  and  almost  died  with 
the  wounds  he  received,  but  he  would 
not  give  up  his  work,  and  though  faint- 
ing and  bleeding,  he  still  kept  near  his 
own.  He  called  them  his  oicn:  for  his 
father  had  given  him  all  whom  he  would 
save. 

At  length  he  collected  together  all 


124 

who  were  willing  to  be  his,  and  be 
saved  in  his  name,  and  they  commenced 
their  return.  He  met  with  a  great 
many  difficulties  in  bringing  them  home. 
Some,  who  appeared  to  set  out  very 
well,  soon  found  that  it  was  hard  work 
to  mend  their  characters,  and  so  they 
gave  up,  and  went  back.  Others  fell 
into  sins  of  various  kinds,  which  they 
had  lono-  been  accustomed  to ;  and  their 
kind  leader  had  need  of  all  his  patience, 
in  teaching  them  their  duty,  and  keep- 
ing them  together,  and  leading  them 
on.  Sometimes  they  would  wander 
away  from  him,  and  then  they  would 
get  torn  by  brambles,  or  frightened, 
and  sometimes  were  wounded  by  wild 
beasts.  In  such  cases,  he  would  re- 
prove them  for  leaving  him,  and  tell 
them  they  must  keep  close  by  his  side ; 
if  they  were  really  penitent,  he  would 
always  forgive  them,  and  treat  them  as 
kindly    after   their    errors    as    before. 


125 

There  is  one  thing,  too,  which  I  must  not 
forget  to  mention,  and  that  is,  that  there 
were  several  of  the  bad  hoys,  who,  when 
they  heard  what  the  Nobleman's  son 
said,  and  knew  that  a  party  were  going 
to  return  under  his  care,  concluded  to 
go  back  themselves,  though  they  would 
not  put  themselves  under  him.  Some  of 
the  others  urged  them  to  join  their 
leader,  so  as  to  come  in,  at  last,  under 
his  care,  and  in  his  name. 

"  But  no,"  said  they,  in  reply,  "  we 
are  sorry  for  our  fault  in  leaving  the 
gardens,  and  wish  to  go  back.  There 
is  no  doubt  the  Nobleman  will  forgive 
us,  and  take  us  in  again,  if  we  say  we 
are  sorry.  You  may  go  on  in  your  way, 
and  we  will  go  in  ours.  We  want  to 
have  a  little  more  liberty  in  going  back, 
so  we  will  go  by  ourselves.  We  shall 
certainly  be  forgiven  if  we  only  go 
back."  ' 

Thus  they  went  on.  The  Nobleman's 
11* 


126 

son  was  always  with  those  who  trusted 
themselves  to  him;  he  took  a  great 
deal  of  pains  to  teach  them,  and  to  im- 
prove them  in  every  respect.  He  set 
an  example  of  kindness,  and  forbear- 
ance, and  good  will,  and  obedience  to 
his  father's  commands;  and  he  helped 
them  in  every  way  in  his  power  to  fit 
themselves  for  being  restored  to  the 
happy  society  they  had  lost. 

At  last  they  arrived  again  at  the  lit- 
tle stream  which  the  boys  had,  so  un- 
happily for  themselves,  crossed,  when 
they  first  began  to  go  astray.  The 
Nobleman's  son  came  on  before  the  rest, 
and  was  greeted  with  smiles  and  con- 
gratulations from  all  the  children,  who 
had  assembled  to  welcome  him.  They 
stood  in  happy  groups  under  the  trees, 
upon  the  banks  of  the  stream.  When 
they  saw,  however,  that  he  was  pale 
and  thin,  and  that  he  had  been  wounded 
and  bleeding,  a  feeling  of  sadness,  per- 


son.  127 

vaded  the  whole  assembly ;  nothing 
was  said;  but  they  all  thought  that  it 
was  strange,  that  he  should  be  willing 
to  suffer  so  much  for  them. 

"Where  are  your  boys,  my  son?" 
said  the  Nobleman  himself,  who  stood 
among  the  children,  looking  as  pleased 
and  happy  as  they. 

"  Here  they  are,"  said  he,  "  all  that 
would  come  with  me,  I  have  brought. 
I  have  kept  them  safely.  They  are 
penitent;  will  you  forgive  them  for  my 
sake?" 

While  he  said  this,  his  boys,  who 
stood  around,  looked  up  to  their  old 
protector,  with  tears  in  their  eyes  ;  but 
they  looked,  and  they  felt,  happy.  They 
knew  they  were  forgiven,  and  they  felt 
their  hearts  overflowing  with  joy  at  the 
thought  of  being  admitted  to  their  for- 
mer home  again,  through  the  kindness, 
too,  of  such  a  Mediator, — such  an  Inter- 
cessor.     They   rejoiced   that   the   son 


128 

called  them  his,  and  seemed  the  more 
attached  to  them,  on  account  of  the 
very  difficulties  he  had  encountered,  and 
the  sufferings  he  had  borne  for  them. 
Their  old  companions  welcomed  them 
cordially,  and  said  nothing  to  them 
about  the  past,  and  they  all  prepared 
to  go  together  to  their  little  homes. 

Just  then,  however,  they  saw  across 
the  boundary  some  other  boys,  coming 
down  cautiously  and  timidly  out  of  the 
thicket.  They  stopped  to  look  at  them. 
They  were  those  who  chose  to  return 
in  their  own  way,  and  save  themselves, 
rather  than  be  saved  by  the  son.  They 
looked  guilty  and  afraid.  Some,  how- 
ever, a  little  more  bold  than  the  rest, 
though  scarcely  daring  to  look  the 
Nobleman  in  the  face,  expressed  their 
hope  that  they  should  be  forgiven  too, 
and  admitted  back  into  the  garden. 

"Who  are  those  boys,"  said  the 
Nobleman. 


THE    NOBLEMAN'S    SON.  129 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  the  son,  shak 
ing  his  head  mournfully  as  he  spoke, 
"they  are  not  mine." 

My  little  reader,  do  you  wish  to  be 
saved  by  Jesus  Christ?  He  came  to 
this  world  on  purpose  to  seek  and  to 
save  you, — to  save  you  from  your  sins. 
His  father  has  given  him  all  whom  he 
can  save,  for  his  own.  Are  you  will- 
ing to  be  his.  If  you  are,  go  and  join 
him}  and  he  will  keep  your  eyes  from 
tears,  your  feet  from  falling,  and  your 
soul  from  death;  and  present  you  at 
last,  before  the  throne  of  his  glory,,  with 
exceeding  joy. 


VALUABLE    WORKS 

PUBLISHED    BY 

LEWIS  COLBY  &  CO.,  122,  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW-YORE. 

HAPPY  TRANSFORMATION; 

OR,  THE  HISTORY  OF  A  LONDON  APPRENTICE, 
An  Authentic  Narrative. 

"I  should  he  glad  if  my  notice  of  this  little  work — 'The  Happy  Transforma- 
tion ' — should  induce  numbers  of  young  men  to  purchase  and  read  it." 

Rev.  J.  A.  James's  "  Young  Man  from  Home." 

FACTS  FOR  BOYS. 

Selected  and  Arranged  by  Joseph  Belcher,  D  I). 

FACTS  FOR  G-IRLS. 

Selected  and  Arranged  by  Joseph  Belcher,  D.D. 
These  are  very  entertaining  and  useful,  books  for  children — 
inculcating  religious  Truth  by  interesting' Eacts,  Anecdote3, 
and  Stories.   It  is  just  the  hind  of  reading  which  children  like. 

THE  WAY  FOR  A  CHILD  TO  BE  SAVED. 

Thi3  entertaining  book,  which  has  already  had  a  wide  cir- 
culation, can  hardly  fail  of  being  a  means  of  good  to  every 
child  that  reads  it. 

EVERY  DAY  DUTY: 

OK, 

SKETCHES  OE  CHILDISH  CHARACTER. 

The  Author,  in  this  book,  in  plain  and  simple  language,  en- 
ters into  the  sports  and  incidents  of  childhood,  and  would 
show  to  children  that  they  are  always  happiest  "when  doing 
right. 

SKETCH  OF  MY  FRIEND'S  FAMILY. 
By  Mrs.  Marshall. 

BLOSSOMS  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

HOUSE  OF  THE   THIEF. 

VISIT  TO  NAHANT.        GUILTY  TONGUE.        MY  STATION. 

WONDERS.QF   THE    T1P.P.P 


